Der_Schnibbler This is another one in a long line of typical Japanese black-and-white film-student-project-gone-wrong pretentious wannabe-deep-but-it's-not pseudo-surrealistic piece of crap masquerading as "disturbing horror." A never-ending bout of morons screaming for no reason and just "freaking out" is what you are in for with this film.Of course, any movie like this will attract countless reviews speaking of how "briliant" the director is, how "disturbing" the film's "message" was (bwhahaha!) and a long string of steamy nuggets of self-delusional insight, but what it comes down to is this: low budget black and white boring inanity with lots of stupid screaming that will bore you to the verge of tears.If you're looking for an actual movie with plot that will entertain you, this is not it.

Onibaka Much of this movie has the feel of a Tsukamoto (Tetsuo,Vital,A Snake of June) film, but the differences in story and plot have great distinctions. To save time and for the sake of your interest I will not re-summarize the film, but tell you what to expect. This film is almost as vivid and has as many common traits as Tetsuo, though with a different theme. For all of my friends, the sheer amount of screaming was unbearable, but it really is necessary. Effects weren't flashy, but they suited well. Acting was fantastic (only a real actor will wear one of those rubber suits). Overall, a great movie that will certainly make you perceive many things in a new way from now on, which I think is a goal that more films should strive to achieve. Not for the faint of heart, so watch at your own risk. If you enjoyed Rubber, you may like 964 Pinocchio, also by Shozin Fukui.

movieman_kev Scientists use a brain-altering drug to conduct experiments, after one such project goes astray, they need to find another test subject in this Japanese splatter-punk film. On it's surface Rubber's Lover can be compared to Tetsuo: the Iron Man (shot in black and white, weird, kinetic, and machine driven), but it's different enough to stand on it's own merits, even if it's not nearly as good as the aforementioned film. Good for a viewing or two, but it's not one of the films that you'll return to over and over again. Still for an obviously low-budget film it IS entertaining.My Grade: C+DVD Extras: "Gerorisuto" short film; Interview with Shozin Fukui; Photo gallery; Theatrical Trailer; Trailers for "Electric Dragon 80000V", and "Junk"

Food This does for corporate research science what 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' does for inbred hillbillies. It is a film about psychic warfare that makes David Cronenberg's 'Scanners' seem ineffectual. Tho I don't like Rubber's Lover as much as Fukui's other feature, '964 Pinocchio,' it is certainly remarkable. What makes this film chilling to the bone is not the strange technology depicted or the spooky black & white cinematography or the creepy narrative ambiguities, tho this all adds. It is the screaming, hysterical, overblown performances by the actors which really gives the impression of terrible violence. Tho there is a decent amount of physical splatter in this film, the real gore is psychological. Try this film. you'll feel like a rhesus monkey in a head trauma experiment, and you'll like it!